11.
Silverchair
Young Modern

Another disappointment, in that it is clearly isn’t as good as its predecessor. However, this is still a quality album from the Aussie boys. It covers some new ground for the band, too, with a big 60s influence evident throughout. Stand out tracks are the quirky ‘If You Keep Loosing Sleep’ and the layered ‘Those Thieving Birds/Strange Behaviour’, though my personal favourite remains the deceptively simple ‘Mind Reader’. I’ve discovered that it’s important to listen to this record with headphones, because it contains numerous flourishes and hidden motifs which are lost in the ether unless they’re pumped directly into your head. I can see why there has been a backlash against the singles, both of which are a little twee, but they are still good tunes, which I think work better in the context of the album than they do as stand alone songs. I do wonder, though, however much I have enjoyed this, whether it may be time for Daniel Johns to drop the name and move onto something else. Before it’s too late, and we get a Silverchair album that isn’t up to it…